Currently operating off the coast of San Diego for exercise RIMPAC 2014 is the small team of six mine warfare sailors from the Royal Australian Navy’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Element (AUV), normally based at HMAS Waterhen in Sydney.
Early in the sea phase of the six week long exercise, the Australian AUV element, along with elements from the Royal Navy, United States Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy, embarked in the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Coronado to trial AUV operations from the newest of the United States Navy’s Independence class ships.